Audubon at Home Sanctuary Species: Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)

Baltimore Oriole (male) by Randy Streufert

This songbird is named for its orange and black colors - the same chosen by Sir George Calvert (1st Baron of Baltimore, Maryland) for his coat of arms.

The male has an all black head and throat, black and orange wings and tail with a white wing bar and bright orange chest and underparts. Females and young trade the black for olive and dusky coloring, and have two wing bars. The loud, clear, flute-like whistle of the male heralds its spring return to eastern North America from its winter residence in Mexico and South America. This seasonal movement makes orioles a Neo-tropical Migrant, along with other songbirds such as tanagers, vireos, and most thrushes and warblers. Its preferred habitats are flowering orchards, tall shade trees of country roads, towns and backyards, and wood-edges near streams.


To learn more about ID, range, breeding, and voice, visit Cornell’s All About Birds

What Baltimore Orioles Need How Can We Help
Food and Water: Orioles glean trees and shrubs for caterpillars, including webworms, tent caterpillars, tussock, gypsy and brow-tailed moth caterpillars, and a host of beetles, ants, grasshoppers, scale insects, and wood borers. A "natural insecticide," this insect-eating machine reduces the pest populations of landscapes they visit. Orioles are frugivores--they love fruit, such as wild cherries, juneberries, mulberries, grapes, and blackberries--and they probe flowers for nectar.
  • Plant fruiting native trees and shrubs, such as Serviceberry, Elderberry, Black cherry, Mulberry, Viburnum, Blackberry.
  • Preserve mature trees, and preserve or restore natural forest age structure of mature trees, middle aged trees, young saplings.
  • Baltimore Orioles are attracted to feeders by orange halves or dried cranberries or a peanut butter mix.
  • Reduce or avoid use of pesticides that poison the insects orioles feed on.
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    Shelter:Orioles will seek shelter in stands of tall trees with full canopies and dense hedgerows. Large leafy species like oaks, maples, elms, sycamores, ash and sweetgum are some of their favorite haunts.
  • Plant and preserve stands of native shade trees.
  • Create hedgerows of native trees and shrubs.
  • Remove invasive exotic vines that may overwhelm and destroy large trees.
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    Nesting: Males arrive in spring before females. He displays before her, bowing and spreading his wings to show his colors. Females build the nest 25 to 35 feet above the ground, a swinging sock-like pouch woven and lined with plant fibers, hair, string, or grass, hanging from outer branches of maple, elm, or sycamore. Their preferred habitat is open woodland, forest edge, river banks, and small groves of trees, as well as parks and suburban woodlands with tall trees. Baltimore Orioles often nest in American elms, but will build in other trees, especially maples and cottonwoods.
  • Preserve or plant tall, leafy, canopy trees, especially adjacent to streams.
    • Other Threats:
  • Spraying of trees in summer not only removes insect food sources, but may directly poison orioles and other canopy-foraging birds.
  • Because they migrate at night, Baltimore Orioles can become disoriented by lights and crash into tall structures such as skyscrapers and radio towers.
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  • Avoid foliar spraying of trees.
  • Turn lights out at night, and support Lights Out campaigns in cities.
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    Additional Resources:

    How Orioles Build Those Incredible Hanging Nests

    Where to see Baltimore Orioles and their Habitat:

    Great Falls Park (Fairfax), Dyke Marsh, Algonkian Regional Park (Loudoun), and Leopold's Preserve (Prince William)

    Find more using eBird Data: Narrow the view by entering your county in the “DATA FOR:” filter

    View our full lineup of classes, events, bird walks and more on our calendar.